SALISBURY, Md. - Easton had already beaten WiHi once this season, a 2-1 win to close out the regular season. The Warriors decided that wasn’t enough. On the road in the 2A East II Regional Quarterfinals, they ended the Tribe’s season with a 3-2 overtime victory.
Easton came out with its foot on the gas, and in the 30th minute, Miles Chaney finally cashed in the pressure to make it 1-0. WiHi wasn’t about to roll over, though. Eight minutes later, Snyderson Joseph found the equalizer. Then came the plot twist: a minute after that, Yerry Mendez answered for Easton, and the Warriors took a 2-1 lead into the break. Blink and you would have missed half the scoring.
The second half was a different game entirely. Offense dried up, and neither side could string together real control. Much of that was thanks to WiHi goalie Nehemias Depez Rodas, who kept turning away Easton chances and kept the Tribe in it. Then, in the 60th minute, Antonio Garcia Ailon stepped up and unleashed a banger to tie it at 2-2. No one scored the rest of regulation, so it was on to overtime.
It didn’t take long. In the 4th minute of the extra period, Alejandro Monroy lined up a corner kick, and Max Smith used his tall frame to rise above the crowd and head it home. Game over. Easton’s season rolls on, and WiHi’s does not.
Next up for the Warriors is a true David vs. Goliath showing. Easton heads back to Salisbury to take on top-seeded Parkside in the Regional semifinal.
